Possessed by a Stranger (8 page)

Jeff started talking immediately after
answering the call. “She’s fine. I figured you would call. I jumped
up to stop Jay but Larry vaulted over the bar and beat me to
it.”

“Did… he… hurt… her?” He enunciated each word
demanding a truthful answer.

Jeff snorted a laugh. “Hell no. She whacked
him upside the head with a beer bottle before anyone could stop
her. I gave her a ride home.”

“You what?” Garret stood, prepared to
confront Jeff in person.

“Oh no, I know she’s off limits. A couple of
her girlfriends and I gave her a ride home. I didn’t think you
would mind. The girls stayed at her apartment with her. I went back
to the bar since my chivalry cost me a sure thing. Jay went home
with some other girl so I figured he wouldn’t cause her any more
trouble. I would have called you last night if I thought she was in
danger.”

“You did the right thing. I appreciate your
chivalry although I’m not completely convinced that’s all it was.”
That woman had dropped into his life at the most inconvenient time
possible. With his father semi-retired, all the family business
rested on his shoulders. His responsibilities were massive but
doable as long as he focused his full attention on getting the job
done. Now, after years of casual sex with numerous women he found
one that sparked more than just his dick. Thanks to her games,
which he normally would have enjoyed, she roamed free with him too
preoccupied with work to play along.

“You’re damn straight. You’ll get tired of
her soon enough, I’m just laying the groundwork. Until then, I’ll
respect and protect your interest.” Jeff’s assumption she was in
the same category of all his other conquest raised questions in his
mind. She wasn’t and he failed to comprehend why. Women were a
candy store of sweet pleasures to be enjoyed, savored, and consumed
before moving on to the next piece. Hannah, was sweeter than most
with a hidden surprise of innocence beautifully packaged. She had
offered him a special gift without demanding something in return.
He needed answers as to why. Unlike him, women didn’t want him for
pure sexual satisfaction. They spread their legs to unveil their
mantrap with a goal in mind. Her goal remained a mystery.

“See that you do.” Garret returned to his
chair. Jeff’s employment status was questionable. Garret suspected
Jeff was attempting to cock-block him. Of course, there wasn’t a
chance in hell Jeff would succeed. Especially, after Jeff lost his
income and access to the town car.

CHAPTER FOUR

Hannah purchased her business wardrobe with a
cautious eye searching for subtlety or pleasantly professional as
she liked to call it. She never knew with certainty if her client
was male or female with the anonymity of using screen names and
emails. The striking blue silk camisole added the pleasant splash
of color to her current attire. Her form fitting black pencil skirt
with a coordinating one button short suit jacket gave her the
professional appearance she required to deal with potential
buyers.

There were some clients that if they got one
hint of the down-home, fun-loving Hannah they thought they could
have her for lunch. Taking advantage of anyone with lesser means or
age seemed to boosts their over inflated egos. Even worse was when
they thought they were doing her a favor by purchasing her
merchandise. That was when they expected a favor in return. She had
walked away from a few clients, placing them on her never-again
list. An attractive twenty-four year old female in a dick filled
business world needed to take certain precautions, which she did.
With her hair tightly pinned in a bun to the back of her head and
large black rim glasses, Hannah waited for her client to
arrive.

She went to extremes to maintain her
anonymity when meeting a client in person. Introduced as only
Hannah, she was a representative of Aged Treasures, an internet
based business, and nothing more. The fact she was the sole owner
and only employee was for her knowledge only.

With several climate controlled storage
buildings as her warehouse and her apartment as her office, Aged
Treasures had netted her a comfortable income. What had started out
as a quest to learn her ancestry, along with her love for antiques,
and her history degree, allowed her to become one of the top
internet antique dealers on the east coast.

A legend of a hidden treasure involving her
great-grandmother, Louise Abernathy, started her search to learn
more about her heritage. The loss of Louise’s true love, Grant
Presley, in a mining accident was the beginning of the legend.
Their love, scorned by his wealthy family, forced him to leave to
find his own wealth. After Louise heard the scandalous rumors of
Grant sending her gold during his hiatus, she retaliated. Being a
talented artist she painted four landscapes and a portrait of her
and Grant. She sold the landscapes supposedly to patrons located on
the four main points of a compass. Then she went to face Grant’s
family. She presented the portrait to the people she held
responsible for the loss of her one true love and the source of the
rumors that portrayed her as a gold-digging mistress. She admitted
to hiding a treasure and the key to the treasure was the four
landscapes.

Hannah had heard the story every night when
her grandmother, Abbey Greer, tucked her into bed until she was six
years old. That was when her grandmother had died. The story, true
or not, had sparked Hannah’s curiosity. She built her life around
finding the truth of the legend. Her education in history, her
career in antiques, and now her move to the family cottage she
inherited all stemmed from a deeply seeded need to connect with her
past.

Hannah checked her watch. She had taken the
time away, from her move in progress, to meet with this insistent
client. Now, the buyer was ten minutes late. In another five
minutes, she was out the door, headed back to her apartment to
finish packing. Known only as P. Garret, the buyer contacted her
through her web site in regards to a nineteen-o-eight Hampton
mahogany sideboard. She had one in storage in perfect condition. A
quick sale made one less thing she had to deal with or she wouldn‘t
be here now.

“Miss, are you with Aged Treasures?” The
server interrupted her thoughts.

“Yes I am.” The woman waved her arm motioning
for her client, Hannah presumed.

The hair on the back of her neck prickled
with a slight sniff of a familiar cologne. Two men passed by her.
They pulled out chairs to join her at the table. Her stomach
heatedly twitched. A hot flash swept over her, sparked by a memory.
Two imposingly large men faced her with only the teensy tiny table
as a barrier. One man was mid-fifties, bald from a razor cut, and
had a bodyguard build. She remembered seeing him at the bar. The
bulge in the side of his jacket suggested he was armed. Maybe he
was a cop as her friends suspected. The other man filled his chair
with one leg extended and the other bent at the knee. His venomous
eyes locked onto her. Sitting directly across from her was her
handsome stranger, taker of her virginity and the man she thought
she would never lay eyes on again.

Her body entered suspended animation but her
mind wasn’t as lucky. The urge to laugh, cry, run like hell or jump
his bones, all flashed through her thoughts. Her voice became
useless without her breath that refused to return. His foreboding
mood left her bewildered. Had he not recognized her or had he
recognized her? What the hell?

Shock swept over Garret the second he saw her
and he wasn’t accustomed to anything shocking him. Fucking hell,
this was about to get very interesting. He almost smiled when he
saw her ridiculous attempt to disguise her beauty. He imagined her
removing the glasses, tossing them away then releasing her hair,
shaking it free. A slow sensual strip tease would follow. Hell yes;
that was definitely added to his list of things he wanted from
her.

“Two scotches and a frozen margarita for the
lady.” Garret ordered then sized up his sexy adversary. She had the
painting. Moments after she won the bid they met. Was their meeting
a coincidence…not likely? Her innocence had deceived him or he
might have put two and two together. The chances of him connecting
the two separate incidents seemed farfetched. There wasn’t any way
she could have known he would be driving down that street at that
exact time. His plan to face Ted was a spur of the moment
event.

After her initial wide-eyed glance, she now
wore an air of confidence. Her poker face was well rehearsed. After
just watching the video of her in the bar, he knew she switched
faces quickly and efficiently. The mystery of his mystery woman
just increased. With his pants tightly zipped, she was about to
meet the business end of Garret Presley. He would damn sure unzip
his pants later, after, he obtained the painting.

Okay, he remembered so why
was he so pissed? She found her voice and corrected his order with
the server. “No
margarita, thank you. I’m
fine. Put everything on my tab.” She reminded herself, business
first, panic later.

Facing her angry stranger, her reasons for
meeting clients in a public place were crystal clear. With the
feeling of being a hungry predator‘s prey she doubted her safety
measures were adequate.

“Do you want anything to eat? Lunch or
appetizers?” His cold soulless eyes bored into hers. Many reasons
for this meeting popped into her mind, none of which explained his
dangerously foul mood. She couldn’t fathom anything she had done
that would cause him any anger, let alone, this borderline
rage.

“No thank you. But make our drinks doubles.”
His gaze remained on her.

His clenched jaw line pointed to his jutting
chin. Her sexy mystery man had disappeared and a bastard
replacement had taken over his body. “And you are?” What the hell,
she might as well know his name. She might need it for the police
report later.

“Garret, and this is Jones, my procurement
manager. I remember you calling me God quite often when we first
met. If you’re more comfortable with that name, I’ll understand. I
know who you are Hannah. I‘m surprised there‘s not an engagement
ring on your finger.” She had perfected her façade but she couldn’t
control the pinkish buds of color that bloomed over her cheeks.

He wasn’t as surprised as she was to be
sitting across from him, she was sure. This whole situation was out
of kilter with the business meeting she expected. She had changed
the original meeting place from the Eleganté to avoid the miniscule
chance she would accidentally run into him. She needed to stay on
track and run like hell at the first opportunity. Hannah removed
her glasses. The disguise was useless since he had seen her with
far less. She hooked the glasses on the side of her purse. “Mr.
Garret, you said you were interested in a sideboard and I have
several. These are the certificates of authenticity and detailed
pictures.” She slid the portfolio across the table.

Garret stopped its slide with a smack of his
hand, sharply pushing it back. “Not interested.” Her avoidance of
any personal information raised his suspicions as to her motives.
Their original chance meeting might have been a well-planned ruse.
With the painting she obtained being one of four, she might think
he was in possession of the other three. The legend surrounding the
four paintings foretold of a treasure. Surely, she wasn’t one of
those lunatics searching for lost gold.

She floundered in confusion. None of this
made a lick of sense. Warning signs flashed in her mind. His stern
angry demeanor glued her to the chair with her apprehension of
saying or doing something to make matters worse. Nevertheless, the
reason for the danger remained hidden lurking behind the grayish
blue windows that held her gaze. She had two choices. She could
trust the danger signs and leave now or stay and face the impending
wreckage. Hell yes, there was going to be wreckage one way or
another. “Then exactly why am I here if it’s not business
related?”

“This meeting is strictly business. I would
handle this situation exactly the same no matter who was sitting in
that chair. Remember the investment I missed out on the night we
met. It was a painting. You’re here to tell me how you are fixing
bids. Then, you will give me the painting you stole from me. I
warned you then someone would regret taking what I wanted. Odd that
it turned out to be you.” Ice coated his sternly spoken words.

Oh, so this meeting wasn’t personal. That was
a relief. This was a business meeting. She refused to back down
with her integrity on the line. With the same professionalism that
helped to build her reputation, Hannah replied calmly. “To begin
with Mr. Garret, I don’t steal or fix anything. And I resent your
implication that I do. I work hard to get what I want and I don’t
leave it to chance or some lackey to do my job for me. I win bids
because I research the value of the merchandise and I outthink my
opponents. If you have a problem with losing a particular bid, then
I suggest you contact the web site and lodge a complaint. It is
bonded and insured against fraud.”

Strong men had cracked under the icy glare of
his ruthless demeanor. They knew his reputation, she obviously, did
not. She remained calm on the outside. The fire burning behind her
crystal blue eyes caught his attentive assessment. He planned to
coax her temper to the surface. Heated words usually produced more
information than well thought out calmly told lies.

“Let’s cut through the bull so we can move on
to more personal matters. You have the painting. I want the
painting. I’ll give you twenty percent over your buying price.” He
watched her rapidly blink the surprise from her eyes while
stretching her sleek tasty neck.

“Most of what I purchase is for a client and
by request. If you’re interested in something specific, make a list
and price range. For a ten percent finder’s fee, I will make every
effort to locate the items.”